Back to overview

Issue 1

The Indonesia Women in SMEs dashboard : introduction and overview

An introductory overview of gender gaps in Indonesia and the purpose of the Gender Dashboard, The Issue describes the Indonesia Gender Dashboard as a collection of short publications on key issues dampening progress in reducing gender gaps in private sector employment, powered by an online platform with curated indicators directly linked to public and private actions.The issue also presents a short visual overview of Female labor force participation (FLFP) in private sector, with key figures on the sectoral and geographical distribution of women-led businesses, FLFP rates and wage gaps in the private sector, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women-led SMEs. The publication concludes the introduction to the dashboard exercise by presenting a brief overview of the upcoming publications and next steps using the data from official statistics, Business Pulse, Enterprises surveys, and the reports of international organizations.

Moving the Needle

Proportion of women in private sector.

Source: Sakernas Survey

Proportion of women managed firms.

Source: World Bank, Indonesia Business Pulse Survey

Key takeaways from this publication

The exercise highlights the progress already made by the Government of Indonesia (GoI) in recent years, emphasizes existing challenges, and provides a ground for policy discussions around the required actions to narrow the gender gap in Indonesia. Indonesia recognizes the potential for women to become drivers of economic growth and has recently implemented numerous programs aimed at reducing gender gaps. But, despite some progress, reducing gender gaps still faces serious challenges.

This gender dashboard leverages the existing collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders in improving gender equality in employment. The GoI has encouraged women entrepreneurship through various initiatives (vocational training, technical assistance, microloans, etc.) in partnership with various formal financial institutions, including the central bank, Bank Indonesia, as well as state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In 2022, Indonesia chaired the G20 Empower group, further strengthening public-private collaboration on the gender agenda in the country.

Continue Reading